Americana and Folk Arts

Rafael Osona Auctions consistently offers fine 18th – 19th Century Americana and Folk Arts in our numerous yearly auctions. Our Annual Americana, Fine Art, Maritime Auction held the 1st Saturday in August is abundant with collections from around the country.

Nantucket in her maritime heyday was one of the wealthiest town’s in America. She was steeped in unique material culture from far-reaching trade and whaling voyages. Today this world-class summer resort attracts connoisseurs AND their collections from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, the Chesapeake, Ohio and the West Coast.

Connecting key players in the Americana/Folk Art arenas, we continue to source top material for discriminating buyers.

SOLD FOR $5,100
***This item will appear in our August 5th Addendum***
“Glimpses of Nantucket by Henry S. Wyer (American 1847-1920), August, 1892, Edition De Lux – Limited to 4 Copies” Photo Album, with a total of 46 photographs of various sizes mounted to 27 boards, some boards mounted with multiple photographs, each with handwritten scrip titles, poetry and descriptions of Nantucket, each photograph initialed in pencil below the image “H.S.W.”
Album Overall 8 ¾ in. x 10 ½ in.

SOLD FOR $16,800
***This item will appear in our August 5th Addendum***
Pair of Ralph and Martha Cahoon (American 1910-1982 & 1905-1999) Sailor’s Valentines, oil on Masonite and seashell collage by Bernard Woodman. The Ralph Cahoon valentine with roundel depicting hot air balloon with sailor and two mermaids atop an affixed faux ivory carved whale with mermaid and sailor in a basket below, signed R. Cahoon. The Martha Cahoon valentine with roundel depicting a merman and mermaid in a clam shell boat, signed Martha Cahoon and dated ’84.
20 in. x 20 in. Each

SOLD FOR $96,000
Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr (American 1910-1982) Oil on Masonite “Portrait of the Bird Ship,” a hot air balloon hoisting a special mermaid with floral bouquet as signified by the ship’s flags and pennants, mermaids splashing about beneath, signed lower right R. Cahoon.
31 in. x 27 ¾ in.

SOLD FOR $19,200
Very Fine British Sailor’s Woolwork, circa 1868, large sailor made presentation or wedding gift depicting an anchored Man-O-War flying colors with 112 sailors on yardarms in blue and white dress with two officers on deck, two transport launches alongside, flanked by four cameos of ships in full sail, one flying the Union Jack, two flying the white ensign of the Colonies and one flying the ensign of the Royal Navy, center bottom adorned by a British crest with letters “JB 1868 AH,” all surrounded by a full foliate border of grape clusters, roses and acorn branches, triple matted and framed.
22 ½ in. x 30 ½ in.

Note: A ship dressed with flags and pennants generally announces a special occasion such as the visit of a dignitary.

Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr. (American 1910-1982)“Racing to the Wharf Rats Club”, oil on Masonite, depicting a dapper gentleman wearing a top hat with his mermaid in a bonnet, pearls flying on her neck and fluke racing to the Wharf Rats Club in a horse drawn surrey before a sign reading “Wharf Rats Club, 3 mi.”. Signed lower right R. Cahoon.
21½ in. x 27 ½ in.

Ralph Eugene Cahoon, Jr. (1910-1980) “Seaside Wedding Party”, folk art oil on Masonite, hot air balloons overhead crossing American clippers by the lighthouse and church clock tower, a very joyful wedding party of four mermaids and four sailors dancing with floral bouquets. signed lower right R. Cahoon. 26 in. x 32 in.

Jan Munro (20th Century Folk Artist) Mixed Media on Masonite “Summer View of Nantucket”, with views of Brant Point and Great Point Lighthouses, oyster and fish shacks, boats, whales and an active waterfront village in the foreground, signed and dated lower left “J.L. Munro, 2015”, in gray driftwood frame.
24 in. x 36 in.

An excellent example of the more formalized style Evans employed in later watercolors, as documented in he definitive biography of the watercolor artist J. Evans by Gail and Norbert H. Savage as it appears in the catalog from the museum exhibition catalog Three New England Water Color Painters (pub. 1974). This example is likely related to the exhibited watercolors listed as plate no. 13, 15, 17 and 18 in the catalog.

Folk Art Carved Advertising Store Front Figure,
19th Century, a very fine carved and polychrome figure of a young sailor holding an octant. The figure was acquired in England and was possibly a store front advertising figure for one of John Cail’s instrument shops between 1825-1858 in Newcastle-on-Tyne. Height 66 in.

1836 Illustrated Whaling Journal of the Ship Golconda, N.B. Wilcox (Master), out of New Bedford May 8, 1836 to the Pacific Ocean, returning with great success March 26, 1839, written by Francis Harrison. Extremely rare and most important log with seldom seen 76 ship stamps symbolizing the sighting of vessels and 320 whale stamps of not only different species, but Harrison hand carved stamps for varying size whales.

There are a number of fine quality pencil drawings which leads us to believe that Harrison must have also scrimshawed pieces along the way. In sequence we find the following drawings:
• GOLCONDA. CAPE HORN. BEARING. SW
• GOLCONDA. BOUND. TO. OTAHEITE. S.I.
• GOLCONDA. BOUND. ON. A. CRUISE. Whaling
• AN. OLD. WHALING. CAPTAIN. AT. HIS. EASE. I. AFFLUENCE. 1838
(A portrait of Miss Henrietta Brown)
• Situation of the Golconda the day after being dismasted
• View of the Golconda when fitted, after being dismasted
• A VIEW UP WALL STREET. N-YORK
• The Buildings that are to be
• CANAL INLAND NAVIGATION
• Starboard of the Golconda under sail
In addition there are:
• Eleven pages of 49 whaling songs, which must have been a welcome pastime from the sailor’s day to day life threatening endeavors
• List of whales caught on the voyage and the name of the person credited along with the number of barrels taken from the whales
• List of whales lost by different boats during the voyage
• List of whales caught by each whaleboat during the voyage
• List of vessels seen in port on the voyage and the names of the harbors
• List of vessels spoken on the voyage
• Names of places touched on the voyage

Reference: Starbuck, Alexander, “History of the American Whale Fishery,” Secaucus, NJ: Castle Books, 1989, p.226, p.567. The Golconda left on her first whaling voyage from New Bedford May 1818 for Patagonia and returned January 10, 1819. Her final voyage left on October 15, 1859 and was altered from a ship to another rig. She was captured and burned by the Confederate ship “Florida” July 8, 1864.

Elizabeth Hadwen Sampler, 1766, born February 18, 1755 in Newport, Rhode Island. The sampler contains partial alphabet and quote “Elizabeth Hadwen Her Sampler Made the 12 Year of Her Age, 1766. A Precious Young Woman and an Honour to Her Parents”.
15 in. x 9 in.

Elizabeth was the sister of James Hadwen (b. Newport 1758) the Father of “Nantucket’s” William Hadwen (b. in Newport 1791); Elizabeth’s mother was a Barney.

Folger, an artisan from Nantucket, was mainly self-taught. He worked briefly in 1869 as a journeyman for a wood carver in Cambridge, Massachusetts and continued to create carved animal heads, ornamental carvings and historical dioramas upon his return to Nantucket. Folger was also a painter in oil and watercolors, creating historical scenes of Nantucket.